John Cena has expressed interest in sharing the big screen with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson but insists he will not pressure his former WWE rival into making a movie together.
The wrestling legend also opened up about his emotional state during his final WWE match, explaining why he remained composed despite the significance of the occasion.
Speaking on Happy Sad Confused, Cena discussed the possibility of a future collaboration with Johnson, noting that he would welcome the opportunity if filmmakers identified a suitable project for the two stars.
Although Cena maintains a positive relationship with Johnson, he explained that their personal interactions are not opportunities for him to pitch movie ideas. Instead, he prefers to appreciate their conversations without turning them into discussions about potential business ventures.
Cena emphasized that Johnson is generous with his time and attentive during their interactions, making him reluctant to approach their meetings with a professional request.
“Dwayne and I have talked about creative business that we have together. When I see him, it is literally genuine — it’s not the, ‘Hi, you doing?’ It’s, ‘Let’s take a second.’ And like, ‘Hey man, this time you said hi to my wife. I really need you to know that meant a lot.’ And then we’ll have a conversation about that, and he’s very giving with his time, very sincere, and very present. And I don’t want to bug him down with, ‘And yo, man, I got this pitch.’ You know what I’m saying? My perspective is that the individual doesn’t seem like he gets a lot of time to himself. And when he’s giving enough of his time to be present with me, the last thing I want to do is hand him a pitch deck.”
Cena Reflects on Lessons From His WWE Rivalry With The Rock
While Cena is enthusiastic about the prospect of working alongside Johnson in a film, he believes such a collaboration should happen naturally rather than through personal pressure.
The former WWE champion acknowledged that his previous approach to Johnson during their wrestling rivalry taught him an important lesson about respecting another person’s decisions. He now prefers to leave the responsibility of bringing them together to filmmakers who believe their respective careers and screen presence would complement each other.
“If folks that make movies, there are a lot of folks out there that are in charge of orchestrating those things, if they see Dwayne’s body of work and my body of work, and they’re like, ‘They’d be great together.’ If that opportunity comes, I’m all in. To say I wouldn’t want to share the screen with Dwayne Johnson is a bold-faced lie. I learned from the way I operated our first run in WWE that to beat my chest and say, like, to goad him into that opportunity, that was so wrong of me. So there’s no way — I would love to do it, but I’m not going to advocate for it when it’s beyond my control, and I don’t want to force his hand into a decision he doesn’t want to make.”
Cena and Johnson previously shared one of WWE’s most prominent rivalries, with their contrasting personalities and star power making their encounters major attractions. Both have since established successful careers in Hollywood, making a potential on-screen reunion an appealing prospect for fans of professional wrestling and action films.
For now, however, Cena appears content to let the right opportunity emerge rather than push for a collaboration himself.
John Cena Explains Why He Stayed Composed During His Final WWE Match
Beyond his Hollywood ambitions, Cena has also discussed his mindset during his farewell match at Saturday Night’s Main Event in December 2025.
During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, the 17-time world champion explained that he had already processed the end of his in-ring career before stepping into the ring for the final time. Consequently, he approached the occasion with a sense of completion rather than allowing himself to be overwhelmed by the emotions surrounding his retirement.
Cena explained that his performances have always been centred on the audience’s experience, meaning the emotional reactions of fans did not necessarily have to mirror his own feelings.
“What I do and how I perform is not for my personal satisfaction. It is for the reaction of the audience. And if they felt emotional the day that I stopped performing in the ring, that’s the feels that they have. A lot of people who were super emotional on my last day, I didn’t share those emotions.”
Although he understood why supporters were emotional about his departure, Cena said he had already accepted the conclusion of his wrestling journey. He viewed the occasion as the closing of a significant chapter in his life and felt confident that he had given everything he could to the profession.
“I’m completely sympathetic, but I had already compartmentalized my journey. I know it’s a chapter in my life. I work every day on self-worth, stuff like that. Man, I finished my last match. I have left nothing on the table. There is nothing more I could give.”
Cena’s comments offer insight into how he approached the end of a career that spanned decades and made him one of WWE’s most recognizable performers. Rather than measuring the significance of his farewell through his own emotional response, he focused on the knowledge that he had completed his journey without feeling he had anything left to prove inside the ring.
While his wrestling career has come to an end, Cena’s remarks suggest that he remains open to new opportunities in entertainment, including a possible Hollywood collaboration with Johnson should the right project come along.
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